Hugo McCloud

Self-taught with a background in industrial design, Hugo McCloud’s practice is unrestricted by classical, academic tenets. Drawing inspiration from the rawness and decay of the urban landscape, McCloud creates rich, large-scale abstract paintings and sculptural objects by fusing unconventional industrial materials—tar, bitumen, aluminum sheeting and oxidized steel plates —with traditional pigment and woodblock printing techniques. His approach is instinctive and physical, often working on the floor, sanding, hammering and torching his materials until a total metamorphosis takes place. Driven by an enduring desire to uncover beauty in the overlooked and abandoned, McCloud’s work pushes the boundaries of utilitarian materials and confronts aesthetic perceptions.